1. Black Hawk Down
History through Film

3. Historical Themes U.S. at War Special Forces Urban/Guerilla Warfare
U.S. as International Police Force
Problems in Africa
Courage/Brotherhood

7. Somalia Capital: Mogadishu Population: 10.8 million (UN, 2015)
Area: 637,657sq km (246,201 sq miles)
Major languages: Somali, Arabic, Italian, English
Major religion: Islam
Life expectancy: 54 years (men), 57 years (women)

10. Operation Restore Hope
UN distributing food to starving (300,000) Somalis starting in December of 1992
Proved difficult because of warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid
Aidid stole food for his soldiers and to sell for weapons (80% of food stolen)
Also distributed Cot to his soldiers: highly addictive drug that causes aggressive behavior

12. U.S. Role
US forces sent by President George H.W. Bush to help distribute food at the end of 1992
By 1993, mission had expanded to put an end to the violence of civil war and capture Aidid
Initially, Somalis supported US presence, but this changed as more and more were killed
October 3, 1993: Battle of Mogadishu

15. U.S. Army Rangers Elite force of the U.S. Army
Arguably oldest existing unit in the military
Been around in some form since before the Revolutionary War
"Rangers lead the way" "All the way! “
Missions: special operations raids, forcible entry operations, and special reconnaissance. 

17. Delta Force “Tier One” Special Operations Unit
Sign agreement under penalty of prison if you reveal you are a member
Estimated only 1,000-1,500 Active Operatives
 Missions: execute small, high-intensity operations of short duration like raids and capture missions
Today: focus on Counter-Terrorism

19. Operation Gothic Serpent/ Battle of Mogadishu
American special forces carry out mission: Rangers and Delta Force soldiers
Goal: capture high ranking followers of Aidid
Supposed to last 30 Minutes: Did make arrests of Aidid loyalists
2 Black Hawk helicopters shot down by RPGs
Soldiers surrounded and fight through the night to escape

21. Impact 2 U.N. and 18 U.S. soldiers killed, 73 wounded
Hundreds, maybe thousands of Somalis killed
President Clinton withdraws US forces
U.N. mission ends in 1995
Experience in part stops Clinton from sending forces to help out Rwanda
Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. First Class Randall Shughart awarded Medal of Honor

25. Historical Liberties/Criticism
Focuses on military action and not humanitarian effort or prior events
Emphasizes American involvement but multiple other countries involved
Todd Blackburn not 18 (20) and had been in country as long as everyone else
Heroism overshadows mistakes of Operation
Viewers do not get a sense of the civilian casualties incurred by the Somalis

26. Why were the U. N. and U. S. in Somalia in 1993
Why were the U.N. and U.S. in Somalia in 1993? How did the in-country mission evolve over time?
This special operation was only supposed to last 30 minutes. Multiple things went wrong. Describe the events that turned Operation Gothic Serpent into the Battle of Mogadishu.
A major theme of this movie is heroism. Describe the instances of heroism in the movie. Do you think these soldiers consider themselves heroes? Why or Why not?